Coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils got their first win on his farewell tour, beating the No. 10 ranked Kentucky Wild Cats 79-71 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.
Freshman guard Trevor Keels scored 25 points and his freshman teammate, forward Paolo Banchero scored 22 to help the No. 9 ranked Blue Devils open their coach’s final season with a victory.
“It was an amazing game that felt so good with the Garden crowd and playing against an outstanding team,” Krzyzewski said. “They are tough and we are tough. That was a big-time game. Really big time.”
Coach K announced in early June that he would retire at the end of this season. The Hall of Famer has won 1,098 games and five national championships in his 42 seasons coaching the Blue Devils. Overall, he has 1,171 wins, the most in the history of Division 1 Men’s College Basketball.
The two college power houses, who have had quite a few legendary battles on the games’ biggest stages, put on a grand show to open the season.
Duke, who led by four, 39-35, heading into the locker room, built their lead up to fifteen points halfway through the second half of the game, led by Keels. The Wildcats would not back down, going on an 11-0 run of their own, to pull within four points, 69-65, on a three point play by Oscar Tshiebwe, with just over six minutes remaining in the game. Kentucky would get no closer.
“We got it to four and then we’ll watch the tape,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Two shots blocked. All I said all week is if you drive, don’t get it blocked.”
On the Blue Devils next possession, Keels scored and Banchero followed with a three-point play, after a huge rejection by Mark Williams to start a 7-0 run. Kentucky was only able to get within six points through the rest of the game.
Even with the win, Duke only converted one of their 13 3-point attempts on the night.
“We hope we could shoot better from 3,” Krzyzewski said. “Give credit to Kentucky. They really play good defense. They have depth and they have old depth. They did a great job of taking away 3s and recovering.”
The New York Knicks players were present at Tuesday night’s game, cheering on their alma mater. The Knicks players were divided with their rooting interests. Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel and Kevin Knox II all went to Kentucky, while RJ Barrett attended Duke. They were all sitting courtside. Obi Toppin didn’t go to either school, but his brother Jacob plays for Kentucky. The Knicks’ second-year forward was sitting with his mom Roni, who was celebrating her birthday.
As stated above, Trevor Keel finished with 25 points, while Paolo Banchero had 22 and Wendell Moore had 12 for Duke. Mark Williams had three blocks and seven boards. Coach K stated after the game that four of his players had suffered with cramps during the game, including Banchero, who had to get an IV treatment.
Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe had a great game. He scored 17 points and had 19 boards. Shavir Wheeler scored 16 points and had 10 assists. Keion Brooks Jr. contributed 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
Kentucky hosts Robert Morris on Friday. Duke hosts Army on Friday night also.
